Solidarity! Drink Olivier Cousin this month. If you’ve not heard, the vigneron has been hauled to court for defying the AOC. You see, he makes wine outside of the appellation,... read more →
There’s so much going on in this fascinating wine with its 12.5% ABV, that all you can do is sip the half-bottle as slowly as you can (hopefully over at... read more →
Maranges, the very last southern stop in Burgundy before Côte de Beaune turns to Côte Chalonnaise, can be rustic, but certain areas, such as this parcel, are capable of charm.... read more →
I had this newcomer at the Renaissance in Angers and I thought, “Not bad!” This, their first vintage, comes from the schist soils of Anjou Noir (tune in next month... read more →
This bottle is part of Hardy Wallace’s mourvèdre crusade, and here the boy strikes gold. It reminded me of the southern Rhône with a definite Californian personality. An evocative wine... read more →
This almost has a little nut, perhaps from a touch of flor, which just deepens my fascination with this salt-meets-honeysuckle wine. Barrel-fermented and then barrel-aged for another 9 to 11... read more →
I’m always on the lookout for a good old-fashioned grenache, and I might have one here. The grapes have a short semi-carbonic maceration, then aged for nine months in concrete... read more →
I tasted Gilles Ballorin’s wines at the Marsannay tasting at Grands Jours de Bourgogne, the every-other-year event (what took me so long!) Turns out he’s a good friend of Sylvain... read more →
Épineuil just east of Chablis, not far from Tonnerre and just a 50 minute drive from the Côte des Bar in Champagne has a name that I can absolutely not... read more →
When I was out at Les Marchand Wine Bar in Santa Barbara, tasting through wines from the Jurassic Vineyard we all indulged in this one, and drank and drank even... read more →